The present invention relates to devices for directing water, and in particular to a device for directing runoff water to a location where it may advantageously be used.
There is a need in residential areas to use water for irrigation purposes, for example to water lawns and other landscaping. However, with an increasing population, there have arisen conflicting competitive demands as to how water resources should be used. Where water resources are insufficient to fully supply both human and landscaping needs, the use of water for irrigation purposes normally is limited if not completely curtailed. On the other hand, if the water supply is sufficient to meet both human and landscaping needs, the costs for purifying the water so that it is fit for human consumption often result in the water being too expensive to be used for irrigation purposes.
Although water supplied by a municipality can be expensive, rainwater is free. However, unlike a municipal water supply, rainwater is neither available on demand nor necessarily in the quantity desired. When rain occurs, the rainwater irrigates the vegetation on which it falls, but the timing of the rain and the amount that falls cannot be controlled.
When it rains, much of it falls where it serves no useful purpose and simply flows away as runoff. For example, in a large metropolitan area such a city, a substantial amount of rain falls on streets and alleys, from which it flows into sewers. Although some falls on and irrigates vegetation, that which falls on streets and alleys is wasted from an irrigation standpoint.